1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic communication systems, and more particularly to electronic events notification systems that are capable of transmitting event-driven messages to various recipients.
2. Related Art
Mass notification systems (“MNS”), herein generally referred to as “MNS Systems,” are well known in the art. In general, an MNS System is an attempt at a comprehensive solution that leverages communications technology to not only warn people of danger, but to keep them informed and guide them to safety. MNS Systems may utilize audio, text, and/or multimedia information to provide information and instructions to people who may be impacted by an emergency event. Typically, MNS Systems are utilized for facilities (such as buildings) that have emergency alert and/or security systems. These facilities may be commercial offices, apartments, condominiums, government buildings, schools, campus of buildings, etc. Generally the MNS Systems are integrated into the emergency alert and/or security systems. As an example, in an emergency event such as a fire, severe weather, a school shooting, or an act of terrorism, people within the facilities and other people, such as, for example, first responders or family members, of the people within the facilities, may be notified of the situation.
Examples of known MNS Systems include facility emergency monitoring systems such as generic alarm systems or fire alarms that include, for example, bells, horns, lights, and/or sirens capable of directing occupants of the facility to evacuate the area. Additionally, these MNS Systems may send emergency notifications to the appropriate first responders, such as, for example, the police or fire department, to managers and/or other responsible personnel of the facility, or to other interested people, such as, for example, parents of children attending a school.
Examples of known MNS Systems are described in: U.S. Pat. No. 8,243,887, titled “Identification of Notifications In a Mass Notification System,” which issued to Conahan on Aug. 14, 2012; U.S. Pat. No. 7,277,018, titled “Computer-enabled Networked, Facility Emergency Notification, Management and Alarm System,” which issued to Reyes et al. on Oct. 2, 2007; U.S. Pat. No. 7,724,130, titled “Systems and Methods For Distributing Emergency Messages,” issued to Norstrom et al., on May 25, 2010; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,384,549, titled “Event Communication System For Forwarding User Alerts,” issued to Lemmon, all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Turning to FIG. 1, a block diagram of an example of an implementation of a MNS system 100 in signal communication with a facility network 102, via signal path 104, is shown. The facility network 102 may be an internal network within a given building or a campus with multiple buildings. The facility network 102 may include a computer network such as an enterprise private network, local area network (“LAN”), wide area network (“WAN”), and campus area network (“CAN”). The facility network 102 may be in signal communication with a building management system 106, fire protection system 108, security system 110, telecommunication system 112, perimeter Internet access system 114, a common alerting protocol (“CAP”) request system 116, other emergency devices 118 that provide emergency inputs, and emergency alert system 120, via signal paths 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132, 134 and 136, respectively. The telecommunication system 112 may include any type of telecommunication network that includes a private branch exchange (“PBX”) or other telephone exchange that connects to a public switched telephone network (“PSTN”). The telecommunication system 112 may also include devices capable of communicating via a wireless cellular communication network, microwave communication network, and/or satellite communication network (collectively shown as communication network 138). Similarly, the Internet access system 114 may include devices (such as servers and firewalls) that define a physical or logical sub-network that contains and exposes external-facing services of the facility network 102 to a larger untrusted network such as the Internet 140. Unlike the telecommunication system 112 and Internet access system 114, the emergency alert system 120 may be more generic alarm notification systems, such as, for example, a system of bells, horns, lights, loudspeakers, and/or sirens capable of notifying occupants of the facility of the emergency. Ultimately, the telecommunication system 112, Internet access system 114, and emergency Alert system 120 allow communicating with target recipients 142 of the MNS system 100 in the case of an emergency. The target recipients 142 may include the occupants of the facility, first responders, people outside of the facility within a specific distance, or other interested people.
Unfortunately, known MNS systems 100 are limited in: the type of messages and/or notifications that they may generate; the manner in which they communicate those messages and/or notifications; the consistency and completeness of the notifications and/or messages; and flexibility of the information provided in the notifications and/or messages. As such, there is a need for a new and improved MNS system that overcomes these problems.